Therapeutic plaster



Nov. 7, 1950 M. s. coRBETT THERAPEUTIC PLASTER Filed March 18, 1948 fn 17E/J7 fr' Mitchell 5f owbez /7 y Y H2755 Patented Nov. 7, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,529,139 THERAPEUTIC rLAsTEa Mitchell S. Corbett, Chicago, Ill.

Appiicauon'iuarch 1s, 194aseria1N0. 15,615

(ci. 12s- 89) 4 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to a therapeutic plaster and to methods o'f making the same. More particularly, Vthis invention relates to therapeutic plasters consisting solely of a plurality of superimposed sheets of plastic film material and to methods making "such plasters.

Thermoplastic film, such as that employed in the present invention, has been proposed for use as a backing material for adhesive tape, absorbent bandages and similar products. Also, medicinal plasters of various construction have been made employing one or'more sheets of thermoplastic material bonded together to the surface to be treated by means of a suitable adhesive. Such plasters are generally coated o-r impregnated with a medicinal preparation or the me- 'dicinal agent may be confined between the plies of the laminated sheets by means of an adhesive bonding the sheets into an integrated structure. The plasters are applied to the Varea to be treated, and the actual medicinal treatment of the area is accomplished by means of the therapeutic agent carried by the plaster.

The present invention provides an improved type of therapeutic plaster for the treatment of medicinal disorders such Aas sciatica, brachial neuralgia, lumbago, laryngitis, arthritis, and muscular pains. The plaster as herein described comprises a plurality of superimposed layers of a non-tacky lm or foil of thermoplasticl material 3y,

such as plasticized vinyl chloride, Vinyl acetate and copolymers of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate. The nlm itself is employed to effect the treatment and it is not necessary to furnish a secondary therapeutic agent as employed in the prior art. Furthermore, no adhesive is employed to bond the layers of lm together or to the area undergoing treatment.

As above described, the plaster herein provided consists solely of a plurality of superimposed sheets of thermoplastic material. The film is applied to the member to be treated as a single integrated plaster formed of a plurality of superimposed sheets of a size and configuration to cover the entire area to be treated. If desired, the lm may be crumpled, as between the hands, to present a cockled sheet surface prior to its application to the area to be treated for reasons to be hereafter described.

It has been found that thermoplastic lm sheets suitable for use as plasters of the present invention, such as cast vinyl acetate-vinyl chlo- `ride copolymer films, possess an affinity for each other, and when a'sheet'vof such material is brought into contact with a second sheet of the same composition, the two sheets tend to remain in contact unless forcibly pulled apart. This property of the films is utilized in the lpresent invention to eliminate the need of adhsives heretofore employedv in Yconventional plasters. The lm also have a certain aflinity for the human skin, although to a lesser degree. This affinity is believed due to the inherent Vlayer of moisture, oil and other substances normally present on the skin. I have found that the ainity of the sheets for one another is suilicient to hold the sheets together as a unitary structure and that the anity of the sheets for the skinv is sufcient toprevent accidental displacement of the plaster from the body in normal use. In use, however, it is preferred that the plaster be applied to the body and then that an article of clothing, such as an undershirt or hospital gown, be worn by the patient over the plaster to prevent accidental displacement of the plaster.

The theory upon which the beneficial healing results obtained by the use of the plaster herein described may be predicated is not clearly understood-at the present time. It is known that the plastic sheet material such as that employed is an excellent thermal insulating material. The plurality of superimposed plastic sheets would have a decided thermal insulating value by themselves and, if crumpled sheets'are employed, the large number of relatively small air chambers between the cockled surfaces of the'sheets may serve as dead air spaces to increase the thermal insulating effect of the plaster. Further, the sheets are in contact at an infinite number of points on each sheet surface, and since the sheets are not bound together except by the affinity between the sheets, they are capable of slight relative movement, especially upon movement of that portion of the body to which the plaster is applied.

Actual clinical tests of the plaster of my invention indicate that the area covered by the plaster becomes warm and perspires freely. This effect tends to show that the plaster actually functions as an insulating material which'may be applied directly to the area to be treated. `YEX- cellent clinical results have been obtained by the use of the plaster herein provided in the treatment o sciatica, lumba'go, brachial neuralgia, laryngitis, arthritis, severe contusions, neuralgia, tight chest colds, and muscular aches and pains.

It is therefore an important objectv of the present invention to provide a therapeutic vplaster which comprisesa plurality' of superimposed layers of a plastic sheet or foil material.

4of` the patient.

vimposed layers of thermoplastic material.

1s another importantobject of the present invention to provide a therapeutic plaster which consists vsolely of a plurality of superimposed sheets of thermoplastic material, the sheets being bonded together to form a unitary plaster by the contactual ainity between the layers, each of said layers being crumpled to present a nonuniform surface, the layers cooperating to dene a plurality of relatively small air spaces between the sheets.

Other and further important objects of this invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claims.

On the drawings:

Figure l is a side elevational view of a therapeutic plaster of the present invention illustrated as applied to the neck and shoulder of a patient;

Figure 2 is a rear elevational View of the plaster of the present invention illustrating the plaster as applied to the neck, back and shoulder of .a.patient; I -YFigure-B is a fragmentary elevational View of aplaster-of the present invention applied to the vlimb of a patient; and

Figure-4 is a cross-sectional View, with parts shown in elevation, of a plaster of the-present invention as taken along the rlines IV-IV of Figure'Z. 1

In Figure l, reference numeral lil refers gen- Yerally to a plaster of the present invention as applied to the shoulder Il and neck l2 of a patient I3. As illustrated, the'plaster is applied to the skin as an elongated, relatively narrow strip formed of a plurality of superimposed sheets of material. yThe plaster may be applied to the parts of the body to be treated by merely placing the plaster onthe skin, the natural ainity of the vsheethiateria-l for therskin causing the plaster :to remain in position.V The free end Ib of the 'plaster lil is maintainedrin position on the re- .mainder of the plaster by the aflinity of the plastic material for itself. There is no need of winding the plaster herein provided, even when empleyedas an elongated strip of superimposed sheets, about the member as a conventional bandage since the plaster itself is formed of a numberof layers of sheet material.

f The plaster, -applied as shown in Figure l, may

-be employed *for the treatment of torticollis rheumatism of the neck muscles, for laryngitis, or for muscular pain of the shoulder.

As illustrated in Figure 2, the plaster may be similarly applied tothe neck, shoulder and back However, it should be noted that the plasters -I l Yas-applied to the shoulder -and the back of the neck and to the back are not applied Vin strip form as in Figure l but are rather-applied as single large sheets of super- As seen in Figure 2, the material may be applied to the shoulder and neck with a freely extending edge Illa. The natural affinity of the thermoplastic material for the skin will cause the free edge IUa to adhere to the skin and to remain in place unless forcibly pulled from the skin.

The plaster as applied to the back of the patient is applied as a single large sheet which is simply wrapped around the area to be treated. The ends lllb and of the sheet are overlapped and the natural affinity between the thermoplastic sheets will serve to secure the ends of the plaster. When the plaster is employed as illustrated in Figure 2 with a freely extending edge Illa, it is preferred that an article of cloth- 4?' ing, such as an undershirt, be applied directly over the plaster to aid in holding the same in position and to prevent accidental displacement during any possible movement of the member undergoing treatment. l

As shown in Figure 2, the bandage l0 as applied to the shoulder and neck muscles is effective in treating various disorders such as cervico brachial neuralgia, and as applied to the back for the treatment of lumbago or other back pains.

In Figure 3, the plaster of the present invention is illustrated as applied to the limb it. As shown, the plaster may be applied to the limb and to the knee joint as a single large sheet of a plurality of layers of thermoplastic nlm material for the treatment of arthritis, the ends lb and Ic of the plaster being overlapped to maintain the plaster in position on the limb.

As illustrated in Figure 4, the plaster I is composed of a plurality .of superimposed thermoplastic sheets llld. In Figure 4, only three such superimposed sheets have been illustrated, but it should be understood that Vany number of such least six layers of the material and have found that plasters which'comprise from 10 to l5 layers of thermoplastic'sheet material are especially desirableand eiective in use.

ItY should be no ed in Figure 4 that each of the sheets ltd has been crumpled so as to present a non-uniform, non-planar cockled surface. The stock of superimposed crumpled sheets contact each other at a plurality of points such as point Il in Figure 4. It may be seen that this contact between the air-impermeable sheets results in the formation of a plurality of relatively small air pockets I8 formed between adjacent sheets. The natural anity between the sheets will cause the sheets to remain in Contact at various points distributed along the length of the sheets. The air cavities i8 thus produced Will function as dead air spaces to increase the insulating' effect of the plaster. Further, the crumpled condition of the plaster allows for the expansion and contraction of the material so that the plaster may be Y applied directly to a joint as illustrated in Figure 3 and may be held in position thereagainst while not restricting any flexing movement of the joint. The crumpled condition of the plaster thus makes possible its use on members which must be flexed in order that the presence of the plaster may not interfere with the ordinary functions of the body. However, it should be understood that it is not necessary to crumple the sheets to present cockled surfaces. I have found that plasters composed of a plurality of superimposed sheets having plane surfaces may be equally effective in the treatmen of various physical disorders.

The plasters of the present invention have proved to be eifective in relieving muscular aches and pains in many varied applications. For eX- ample, the application of my plaster to a member which has been held in a cast relieves the pain which is usually present following the removal of the cast.

The plaster of the present invention may be furnished to the user as a single-thickness sheet of plastic material to beA crumpled, if desired, before application to the member to be treated. 'I'he sheet material may then Abe formed into a plaster consisting of a plurality of superimposed sheets for application to that portion of the body to be treated. Alternatively, the plaster may be furnished as a plurality of superimposed plane or cockled plastic sheets for application directly to the member. In either case, the medicinal treatment is accomplished by the plaster itself and no additional medicinal agents, such as a liniment or ointment, is necessary.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention, and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A therapeutic plaster comprising a plurality of superimposed layers of cockled, flexible, airimpermeable plastic sheet material having continuous surfaces of a synthetic plastic, said layers being bound together by the natural afnity between the plastic surfaces thereof to form a unitary plaster having dead air spaces formed between said layers due to the cockled contacting sheet surfaces.

2. A therapeutic plaster comprising a plurality of superimposed layers of flexible air-impermeable plastic foil, said layers having a cockled, non-uniform surface, said layers being bound together solely by the natural affinity between the plastic surfaces of said layers to form a unitary plaster having dead air spaces formed between said layers due to the cockled contacting foil surfaces.

flexible iilm of synthetic plastic materials, form' ing said crumpled lm into a plurality of superimposed layers bound together solely by the natural ainity between the plastic' lm surfaces, and applying said layers to a member to be treated.

MITCHELL S. CORBETT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Y Name Date 1,755,744 Munktell Apr. 22, 1930 2,164,360 Strauch July 4, 1939 2,279,366 Childs Apr. 14, 1942 2,282,274 Weiswasser May 5, 1942 2,373,802 Anderson Apr. 17, 1945 2,385,879 Patton Oct. 2, 1945 

